31 Days, 31 Horror Movies: Horror of Dracula

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a particular type of horror movie. Giant bugs, slasher flicks, found footage, Italian gialos, etc. Whatever it is, anything else just won't do. I've tried to watch other types of horror films when I'm in that mood and it's inevitably a bad time. I don't enjoy myself and whatever film I'm watching gets short shrift as a result (I'm thinking of Kill Baby, Kill last year in particular). It's harder when you're working from a set list (I swear I'll stop complaining about that soon), as the odds of scratching that particular itch are stacked against you.

Not Megaphython vs Gataroid! Anything but that!

Happily when the urge to watch some Hammer Films Dracula hit me, I saw there were not just one but TWO films on the recommended list (from 2014).

Hammer Dracula part one: Horror of Dracula
Hammer films weren't as much a feature of my childhood as the classic Universal monster films were, but I did see them from time to time. Quatermass and the Pit remains a favorite and The Mummy (with Lee in the title role) was a particular standout, in part because of my profound disappointment with the Universal title. I know I saw the Dracula and Frankenstein films, but I'm ashamed to say they often got mixed up in my head the Poe film cycle of Roger Corman. They had the same lush colors, set design, and period costuming.

Now that I'm an experienced horror film enthusiast I can totally tell when I'm when I'm watching a Corman film instead of a Hammer one. Especially if Vincent Price is in it...

The Medium
Purchased on Amazon. The streaming quality was... serviceable. I really need to pick up some of the Hammer films on DVD or preferably blu-ray, but I don't even know if they're currently available!

The Movie
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Peter Lee and Christopher Cushing... wait, no, strike that last pair. I love seeing either of those actors on screen and any movie in which they both appear is instantly a much better film for it. This is, of course, their classic pairing - with Christopher Lee playing the Count and Peter Cushing his constant foe, Abraham Van Helsing.

Was this in the Special Editions? Stop screwing with them, Lucas!

But first, we must contend with Jonathan Harker, played with smirking smarminess by John Van Eyssen. I know he's supposed to be heroic, but I've always found this character to be totally deserving of his fate. I like the twist - instead of an unknowing victim, Harker is a hunter and has accepted an appointment as Count Dracula's Librarian solely to get close enough to kill the vampire. Unfortunately he's not that bright and wastes precious time taking out one of Dracula's brides. When his mentor Abraham Van Helsing arrives to help, he's far too late.

The thing about Christopher Lee's Dracula that made him so indelible, to me anyway, was how vicious and almost feral he could appear. He was gracious and erudite and cultured - until it was time to suck some blood. And then he was suddenly all fangs, wild hair and bloodshot eyes. I could totally buy him as a monster vindictive enough to head out and try to destroy Harker's family.

Will also totally send his steak back if it's not cooked perfectly.

The names are all familiar - Jonathan, Lucy, Mina, Arthur - but the details are different, which can take a moment to get used to if you're a fan of the novel. Harker's fiancé in this film is actually Lucy (Holmwood - Lord Godalming's sister in this imaging), Mina is married to Arthur Holmwood. The changes quickly fade into the background as Van Helsing arrives, Lucy falls prey to Dracula, and the Holmwoods are forced to fight for their existence against the lord of the undead.

"No, you don't look anything like Bruce Wayne's butler, dear."

There's just something about Peter Cushing that makes you like and trust him, and his Van Helsing is one of his most likeable and enduring characters. He's so charming I found myself annoyed at Michael Gough's Arthur, who has a (completely understandable) dislike of Van Helsing, being involved as he is in both Harker and - later - Lucy's deaths.

Disfiguring her before staking her DOES seem like a dick move, though.

So much good stuff here. This was Hammer in their heyday, with gorgeous production and excellent mood, music and, of course, some amazing stars. It would be decades before the bodices became optional and the blood more plentiful. I do wish there had been more of an opportunity for the two main stars to interact with each other - I'm not even sure Van Helsing and Dracula exhange a single word - but just seeing them on screen at the same time is a bit of a thrill. The final confrontation is still quite good, special effects wise, though it's over too quickly.

Though probably not quickly enough for Dracula.

The Bottom Line
Horror of Dracula is probably the most recognizable of the Hammer Classic Monster films. I think there were better installments in the series, and my heart will always belong to the more esoteric productions like Quatermass and even Vampire Circus, but sometimes only the classics will do. Do you have to be in a particular mood to enjoy them? I don't think so - but it doesn't hurt!

Tomorrow: Van Helsing vs Gilderoy Lockhart... er, Bride of Dracula

31 Days, 31 Horror Movies: The Devil Rides Out

This year's penultimate film was:

The Devil Rides Out
Every once in a while I start to feel like I've seen all the horror films. Like there's nothing new under the sun. Sure, new stuff gets released every year, but I'm talking the really good stuff - the classics and the new classics. I've seen all the vampires, the slashers, the zombies. I've seen the exploitation flicks, the psychological horror and the ghost stories. Wale, Corman, Craven, Romero, De Palma, Carpenter all sit on my shelf. I'm found-footaged out.

I start to feel - not just jaded, but melancholy, like all the good stuff has already been watched and whatever I'm watching now is the dreck. It's not rational - there's no way I've seen even a tenth of all the horror movies ever made - but the feeling is there.

And then - and THEN I realize that I've still never seen The Old Dark House. Or Basket Case. Or, in this case, The Devil Rides Out. It's like a renewal - what other awesome films haven't I seen? It Follows was fantastic, and I'm glad I saw it - what other flicks will become new classics? The moment passes and I'm once again happy to have horror films to watch.

Which is all to say that I was in a mood, and The Devil Rides Out got me out of it.

The Medium
I saw this on YouTube and I'm not sure I should have. It's not available anywhere else for streaming, however, and I didn't see a copy for sale at my local shops, so...

The Movie
The Devil Rides Out (released as The Devil's Bride in the US) is a Hammer film starring Christopher Lee and that right there generally means it's worth watching. Production quality is of a consistently high level as is the cinematography. The acting ranges from top-notch (Lee and Charles Gray) to serviceable, if a bit wooden. All the characters are from upper-crust British society, however, so perhaps it's that stiff-upper lip that makes them all so rigid.

"Is it the lip that's stiff or the enormous sticks up our..."
"REX!"

The film follows the efforts of Nicholas (Lee) and Rex (Leon Greene) to save their young friend Simon from the clutches of a devil-worshiping cult.

Yes - for once Lee is cast as the good guy in a Hammer picture, and his Duc de Richleau is awesome. A modern (I think this is set in the 30's) van Helsing, Nicholas affects a certain world-weary knowledge of pretty much everything. He consistently knows exactly what's happening and why it's bad before anyone else has a clue. His ever-calm nature and answer for everything makes those few moments when he loses his cool much more effective. Only Lee could make a phrase like "Good God, man!" fraught with danger and import.

He even makes smarmy condescension look awesome.

Simon and a young lady named Tanith are to be baptised into the Satanic cult within two days time. Nicholas and Rex attempt to save both of them - even interrupting a ritual wherein the Devil himself (as the goat headed Baphomet) appears! (FYI - for future knowledge or Call of Cuthulhu games - driving a car into the middle of the ceremony and chucking a cruxifix at the demon/monster seems to be the way to go.)

"Me? I thought YOU invited him."

The leader of the cult - a thinly disguised Aleister Crowley stand-in named Mocata - will do anything in his considerable power to regain control of Simon, and especially Tanith, who is a medium for his demonic powers. Gray is excellent in this role and I completely forgot he was Blofeld for at least five minutes. One scene in particular - where he visits the house in which Simon and Tanith are taking refuge only to mesmerize the lady of the house - is incredibly effective. It felt like he really was bending the woman's mind to his, forcing her to obey him simply through the power of his will. He is an excellent villain and as an actor is able to hold his own with Lee, no mean feat.

"Listen to the sound of my voice - it's just... a jump... to the left..."

Thwarted in his attempt to get Simon and Tanith by the timely entry of a little girl, Mocata lays siege to the house with an endless wave of black magic attacks. Nicolas is able to help the residents and Simon withstand the assault, even when the Angel of Death appears on a black horse. Unfortunately, Tanith loses her life - it seems the Angel cannot leave empty handed.

"Maybe the idea of hiding in the barn instead of the magic circle wasn't the best one."

And then they all realize the little girl, Peggy, is missing.

The rest of the film is a desperate race against time to prevent the girl from losing her life - and possible her soul. And the only person who can help them is the recently deceased Tanith!

"Black curtains, check. Black candles, check. Black robes... dammit!"

The Bottom Line
Well written - the adaptation of the Dennis Wheatley novel is by Richard Matheson - acted and shot, this is a fantastic Hammer-flavored Halloween treat. In general I'm not that big on Satanic films, with very few exceptions (Rosemary's Baby, for one, The Exorcist as well). I just find the idea of Satanic cults to be not that credible as a threat. I did very much enjoy The Devil Rides Out, however, and it's extremely well put together. I even found myself misty-eyed at the ending, even though it's a bit of a cheat!

31 Days, 31 Horror Movies: Horror Express

Horror Express (1973)

As I've alluded to before, Horror Express is a comfy old shoe of a horror film to me. It ran incessantly during October when I worked at a comic shop (as it was the only VHS horror film we had). It got to the point where regular customers could whistle the theme song right along with the baggage man. Eventually it became nothing but a Lee/Cushing/Savalas noise in the background of my day, something so familiar as to be invisible.

Just because it's familiar doesn't mean I was looking forward to it, however. I'd seen it a little too much back in the day and wasn't sure I could really find enjoyment in it anymore. I envisioned my attention drifting - wandering back to days spent sorting comics, running games and selling *shudder* packs of whatever card game was then attempting to usurp Magic's place.

It's been 15 years or so since I last saw it, though, and as I was already planning to watch a Christopher Lee film I figured, what the hell 

And a bonus appearance by Grand Moff Tarkin!

The Medium

I had that VHS tape for a long time after I stopped working at the shop, but I never did watch it again. Last night I actually went into the basement and dug into old boxes looking for it, but I think I gave it to my brother Scott along with a lot of other old VHS horror movies. It's available for streaming for free on Hulu, but it's a pretty low-quality copy. I ended up watching it on Amazon instead, and the quality was significantly better, though still cropped.

The Movie

That theme song really worms its way into your head, doesn't it? Within seconds I could hum the whole thing again. Hell, even the extended train whistles during the opening credits had me experiencing flashbacks to new book days and putting comics in subscriber files. Once the movie started in earnest - with Christopher Lee providing a voice-over about his 'doomed' Manchurian expedition - I was able to settle down and just enjoy the film.

"Air holes, AIR HOLES! How many times do I have to tell you?"

 And Horror Express is a fun - if low-budget - Hammer-lite romp of a horror film. With Christopher Lee as the prickly, slightly amoral scientist, Professor Saxton, and Peter Cushing as his more good-natured rival. (Though it is Cushing's Doctor Wells who unleashes the true horror on the train, by dint of a little outsourced science espionage. How'd your curiosity work out for you, Doctor?) And of course, Telly Savalas as the Cossak officer Captain Kazan. If there's any real complaint that I have about this movie it's that there is nowhere near enough of Captain Kazan and his pithy pronouncements. On honest Cossak indeed.

"Am I, or am I not, the coolest person in this room? No - your expressions is confirmation enough."

 What we have is a "monster loose in an enclosed space" story, like Alien or The Thing, but in this case the enclosed space is the early 1900's Trans Siberian Express. It seems Professor Saxton has uncovered a 'missing link' specimen on his expedition to Manchuria and is transporting it to England. Of course it's not really dead - and soon the bodies are piling up, all of them with blood pouring from their all-white eyes.

The monster makeup is quite good, and the camera doesn't linger so we're not forced to examine its flaws too closely. Mostly we see a hairy arm and claws as well as glowing, red eyes. There's some fun incidents of grue, like the autopsies wherein we learn that the victims brains are now smooth as a baby's bottom. (A result, we're told, of their memories being drained.)

"I just wanted to catch the red-eye! No? I'll get my coat..."

 Things seem to come to a premature end with the creature shot down by Inspector Mirov. It's just a cue for things to get more crazy and interesting, however, as the scientists inspect the remains and discover the eye fluid contains images of everything the creature has ever seen. Including dinosaurs. Including the earth - as seen from space! I'm not saying it's aliens. But it's aliens. 

"Let's science the shit out of this!"

This movie is just so much fun, really. It goes to crazy places. Revived ape-men not enough? How about aliens? No, how about body jumping aliens? Still not enough? Hold on, we're going full on zombie horde as the movie careens along. Throw in the good Captain, a lady spy, a Count and his wife, a Rasputin wannabe and more white eyeballs and train models than you can shake a stick at. Whatever else, the movie is never boring.

And there are some genuinely interesting and visually poetic moments. There's a shot of a character, possessed by the alien and staring out the frosted window of the train into the howling snow and darkness that could easily have been the cover to a classic horror novel. Another moment after a whirlwind of death where a character is shot standing over the massed bodies of his foes could have been right out of The Matrix.

The Bottom Line

Yeah, Horror Express is a low budget film with some flat lighting and characters, a theme song that quickly gets on the nerves, and roles that don't exactly require Cushing and Lee to work at their highest level. But you know, they're not phoning it in, either. Everyone seems to be making an effort, and even if it all doesn't quite make sense at least it's not boring. I certainly enjoyed the hell out of it.